And so, the first scrimmage of 2014 spring practice is in the books. It’s a controlled setting, early on – not to mention it’s the first quasi-game like conditions for an entirely new defensive staff – so it’s not worth getting too deep into the weeds. But this is a blog, after all, and if you can’t engage in some premature tea leaf reading here, where can you?

A few thoughts:

I’m a little surprised by this: Asked about Drew’s spring, coach Mark Richt said after the scrimmage that the senior has “done alright. He’s been banged up a little bit. I would say he’s not been kicking tail right now. I think he’s got a lot of improvement to do.” Drew’s 2013 season speaks for itself. So does that Richt thinks he needs motivating this spring.

J.J. Green’s enthusiasm: Sophomore cornerback J.J. Green’s name also came up in the defensive discussion as he and linebacker Reggie Carter led the defense with seven tackles. Green sported a bandage across his forehead during interviews but was very enthusiastic about his game, pointing to one hit that he specifically remembered… “He is very tough, very physical,” Richt said. “For a guy that hasn’t played defense in a while I really like what he’s doing.” You get the feeling that Green’s on track to be a contributor this season.

The offensive line sounds like it’s living up to all the uncertainty we’ve expected. “According to the stats that Richt read off to the media, the offensive line allowed 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks, but he believes those stats to be misleading.” Sure hope so. (And, to be fair, the defensive line has a significant experience edge over its offensive counterpart.)

Chris Conley: Conley, who scored his touchdowns on a flare route and a double move, said the rain shouldn’t be blamed for the offense bogging down. Doesn’t sound like he was bogged down much.

On the subject of Ray Drew, and I may be missing the boat completely, but to me that sounds exactly like a coach who is trying to motivate a player. I don’t know Ray personally but I know some people who do. They all say he’s a real good guy. But I get the feeling that maybe Ray’s effort doesn’t always match his talent. Maybe Richt felt like he can put out a bit more effort. The J.J. talk is a pleasant surprise. I was really concerned that he was gonna get Tripped. The offensive line troubles under Richt, and I’m not part of the fire Richt because he’s too nice and will never win the big one lynch mob, are such a head scratcher. It’s always a problem area no matter who the position coach is. I hate to admit it but I’ve sort of come to accept it.

I remember an interview with Drew where he said he is always trying to motivate himself so maybe it’s a problem he recognizes and Richt is just doing his part as well. I’d love to see Drew go wild this fall. He’s one of my favorite players on the team.

I was thinking about that too, and yes he did. And everybody talked about how physical he was and all that……then for the first 2 or 3 games that next season, he drew a pass interference penalty just about every time they threw at him. He had to learn to dial back the physical side of it. :)

Great running backs can make mediocre offensive lines look good. That is what UGA has had for a lot of years. How do I know this, look at the yards per carry when the lead horse is out of the game. Go back as far as you want to Dooley even. I long for the day when our offensive line makes even mediocre running backs look great.
I’m afraid that in the name of cross training we never let the starting 5 gel as a unit. We are always tinkering with this position or that. You want to substitute to keep them fresh develop two full offensive lines and sub them all at once. Offensive lines must work like a dance team, free styling will get the QB killed.

I have not looked at his game by game stats to back this up, but I felt like Drew fell off a bit after the Vandy game last year. Maybe it was just that opposing offenses started paying more attention to him, he just didn’t seem to make nearly as much impact the latter half of the season. The coaching staff may be trying to re-light the fire, as you said. I’m definitely still looking for big things from him, not only stats but also team leadership.

6 Games Post Vandy:
2 total tackles for loss (including 1 sack), 4 QB Hurries. But all TFL’s, sacks, and 3 of the 4 QB Hurries were all in the App State game. Take away App St, and his major contribution was 1 QB hurry in the 2nd half of the season.

Something happened with him. Like I said, it could be as simple as the offenses paying more attention to him, but I have a hard time believing that explains all of it. He just wasn’t getting in the opponent’s backfield anymore. I’m sure the coaches are aware of this and are driving that point home.

Quote Of The Day

“It's definitely different not knowing exactly who it's gonna be, but in a way, I feel like that's good,” he said. “One of my old coaches from Valdosta told me that competition is one of the best coaches. And I feel like, as well as each one of those three guys is performing, they're not gonna do anything but make each other better.” -- Jay Rome, The Red & Black, 3/25/15